A place for beer drinkers of Asheville and Western North Carolina to exchange news and share their opinions about anything to do with beer.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Around Town

There was quite a crowd at Bruisin' Ale's for last nights special Avery tasting. They showcased a good selection of Avery's high gravity offerings, and Adam Avery himself was on hand for a meet and greet. It was nice being able to meet him, as well as Nate Merchant from Hart Distributing. Tony Kiss was there early to do a podcast interview with Adam, so be on the lookout for the article and podcast on Citizen-Times.com.

In other news, work continues on the the Wedge Gallery brewery. I spoke with Carl last night, and he is hoping to have the brewery open sometime in January, but that date is just a floating target right now. We'll just have to be patient for the return of Carl's Belgian inspired ales. When he does open, he plans on putting some of his beers in 750 ml corked bottles, which will make him the third Asheville brewery to bottle their beer, joining Highland and Pisgah, which bottles special releases intermittently.

Speaking of Pisgah, Jason Caughman was on hand at the tasting as well. Forgive me for my bad memory, but they should be releasing a special stout soon, and I am wanting to think it was a coffee stout (I need to carry around a note pad). Plans are also in the works for the second release of the Red Devil, which should be in the tanks soon. They literally ordered a ton of fruit for this one, and this should be around longer than the first time. On the horizon is the December release of the Baptista. They brewed twice as much this go around, but I still suspect that it will sell out rather quickly, so keep your ears open for the release date. That will be followed up by the Vortex III, an oak aged Belgian Strong Pale (which may pick up some darker hues from the barrels). This is already brewed, and Jason says it could be served right now, but it is destined to sit on wood for the next 3 months or so. This will should come out some around the first of the year.

Next week, the Biltmore Estate is sponsoring a Highland beer dinner on November 7th. Its great that we are seeing more beer dinners throughout town, and I will do my best to add them to the calendar. The real interesting part of this beer dinner is the debut of Cedric's Pale Ale, a special beer brewed by Highland for the Biltmore Estate. I unfortunatley do not know much information beyond the name, but I will pass along anything that I find out about it. Unbeknownst to me, the Biltmore House has already had a special beer brewed in the past for them by Highland, but I have never seen it, nor could I find any other information on that beer. Also, be on the lookout for this years Cold Mountain release, which could be released as early as next week.

French Broad has released their Altbier as a fall/winter seasonal. Altbiers are one of the few German style ales that are produced, but they still maintain some of the characteristics of their lager counterparts. Look for it at the Mellow Mushroom, Bier Garden, Stone Ridge Tavern, and Carraba's, in addition to other locations. One of my favorite French Broad brews, the Flander's Abbey Ale is being brought back to life. It is currently in the tanks and should be released some time after Thanksgiving.

Well I think that about covers it. It's a good time to be a beer drinker in Asheville.